Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-10-06

70 ce very ANXIOUS 10 Keep all The Tree
Territory exclusively for The white
race and leave the cclored race out in
the cold. This could not be done,
however, if the colored race, by be-
coming free, became also citizens Of
Tie UEited Stats, for | ti.i:.k no one
will deny that when the public lands
are open to entry each and every cit
izen of the United States, black or
white, would have an equal right to
enter and settle thereon. If then C n:
gress had the power to exclude tie
free negro from the public lands when
thus oren for white. it must be be-
cause he was not citizen Of the Uni
ted States, and such must lie the
Judges opinion; and from the very
emphatic manner in which that Jud ge
expressed himself. / cannot think that
he would have approved of making a
free negro a citizen at all. Judge
Mclean may be considered as agree.
ing with Judge fancy and the major.
ity Of the Court upon this point, thus
leaving Judge Curtis, Of Massachu-
sets, in the slim minority ofone. But
the Supreme Court, including Judge
Mclean, are not the only high au-
thority that free negroes are not citi-
zens Of the United States. Abraham
Lincoln, the great aboliti n apostle,
expressed the same opinion in hi. Sec
ond annual message. He was then
for emancipation aad compensation.
He says ut is insisted that their
(free negroes presence would iIjure
and displace white labor and white
laborers ia the Northern State~:" and
after arguing at some length az inst
that view, he ends the controversy by
presenting the consoling remedy, land
in any event cannot the NORTH decide
for itself whether to receive them p
Now surely, if by becoming free the
negroes become citizens of the United
States, the North could not 80 decide,
for they would then have the corsti.
tutional right to go where they pleased
throughout the | nited States. Ger
tainly the.black republicans ought not
to have denounced Judge fancy for
his opinion without including Lincoln
and Judge Mclean in their denunci-
ations foE theirs.
Now, let lis recur to the question,
what is the status or condition Of the
negro in this country. BY the au-
thority Of the decision Of the Supreme
Court, to which may be added that Of
Lincoln and McLane, they were not
citizens of the United States and are
not now unless the l4th Amendment
makes them so. The l4th Amendment,
forced upon the States and people, as
| have described, is void. Even those
who favored it's provisions, if sincere,
would say so, for no doubt they think
so, or they must think that any set Of
reckless Congressman can make the
Constitution itself void. But all the
negroes are unquestionably free, IeSh
ly possessing however only the rights
which the white people of each Of the
States allowed them. The right to
vote is granted them in every SOUTH
ern State and other valued rights, and
they may be considered citizens of the
State, but that does not give them the
rights Of citizens of the United States
They may hold any office in Sta'e,
but that under the law does hot give
them the right even OF entering the
territory of another State Illinois,
Lincoln State,-according to his own
opinion,-c forbid a negro from en-
tering her borders from Maryland OF
any other State. They can vote for a
representative in Congress, but they
cannot be representatives. They can
vote in a presidential election and yet
no one of them can be Pres dent.
The right TO vote at all can b. take;
from them by a State. ami Yet Tie
General Government cannot legally
interfere to prevent 1t. THIS hap
pened in Mary land in 1901, and yet
MARYLAND was not interiered with, and
at this day negro has no l,Jai right
to vote within this State. TIE CON
stitution adopted in 1864, when the
republicans were in power, restricted
the ballot 10 .rhi, men, and tie one
adopted when the democrats had pow
er in lSG1 did the same thlng-aLd
unless these constitutions are over
ridden by the nth amendment, ard
they are certainly not. then noae but
white men are now entitled 10 tie
ballot in this State-and for the same
reason none but white men can be H.
qall4 called to the Jury box. The
colored people of this county know
well that these are nay opinions |
have never asked one TO vote and
have told them that if | were can
didate, aud | should lie elected by
their votes, Iwould not hold the place,
nor would | have it if elected by white
citizeus less than u years Of age.
Nv election In both cases would be
equally illegal, and should dishonor
myself by holding place with such
knowledge. When | say this, | DO
not mean any disrespect to ATTY one,
but mean to assert that am a law.
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